Ronald David Laing (7 October 1927 – 23 August 1989), usually cited as R. D. Laing, was a Scottish

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

who wrote extensively on

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

in particular,

psychosis In psychopathology, psychosis is a condition in which a person is unable to distinguish, in their experience of life, between what is and is not real. Examples of psychotic symptoms are delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized or inco ...

and

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

. Laing's views on the causes and treatment of psychopathological phenomena were influenced by his study of

existential philosophy Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and value ...

and ran counter to the chemical and electroshock methods that had become psychiatric orthodoxy. Laing took the expressed

feelings According to the '' APA Dictionary of Psychology'', a feeling is "a self-contained phenomenal experience"; feelings are "subjective, evaluative, and independent of the sensations, thoughts, or images evoking them". The term ''feeling'' is closel ...

of the individual patient or client as valid descriptions of personal experience rather than simply as symptoms of mental illness. Though associated in the public mind with the

anti-psychiatry Anti-psychiatry, sometimes spelled antipsychiatry, is a movement based on the view that psychiatric treatment can often be more damaging than helpful to patients. The term anti-psychiatry was coined in 1912, and the movement emerged in the 1960s, ...

movement, he rejected the label. Laing regarded

as the normal psychological adjustment to a dysfunctional social context. Politically, Laing was regarded as a thinker of the

New Left The New Left was a broad political movement that emerged from the counterculture of the 1960s and continued through the 1970s. It consisted of activists in the Western world who, in reaction to the era's liberal establishment, campaigned for freer ...

. He was portrayed by

David Tennant David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...

in the 2017 film '' Mad to Be Normal''.

Early years

Laing was born in the Govanhill district of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

on 7 October 1927, the only child of civil engineer David Park MacNair Laing and Amelia Glen Laing (née Kirkwood). Laing described his parents his mother especially as being somewhat anti-social, and demanding the maximum achievement from him. Although his biographer son largely discounted Laing's childhood account, an obituary by an acquaintance of Laing asserted that about his parents – "the full truth he told only to a few close friends". He was educated initially at Sir John Neilson Cuthbertson Public School and after four years transferred to

Hutchesons' Grammar School Hutchesons' Grammar School is a private, co-educational day school for pupils aged 3–18 in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded as Hutchesons' Boys' Grammar School by George Hutcheson and Thomas Hutcheson in 1641, making it the 19th oldest scho ...

. Described variously as clever, competitive or precocious, he studied

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

, particularly

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, including through reading books from the local

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

. Small and slightly built, Laing participated in distance running; he was also a musician, being made an Associate of the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

. He studied

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

. During his time in Glasgow, he set up a "Socratic Club", of which the philosopher

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...

agreed to be president. Laing failed his final exams. In a partial autobiography, ''Wisdom, Madness and Folly,'' Laing said he felt remarks he made under the influence of alcohol at a university function had offended the staff and led to him being failed on every subject including some he was sure he had passed. After spending six months working in a psychiatric unit, Laing passed the re-sits in 1951 to qualify as a medical doctor.Beveridge, A. (2011
Portrait of the Psychiatrist as a Young Man: The Early Writing and Work of R. D. Laing, 1927–1960
Oxford University Press

Career

Laing spent a couple of years as a psychiatrist in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

Psychiatric Unit at Netley, where, as he later recalled, those trying to fake

to get a lifelong

disability pension A disability pension is a form of pension given to those people who are permanently or temporarily unable to work due to a disability. North America An example of a disability pension is from a private or Public Pension Plan, or the Canada Pen ...

were likely to get more than they had bargained for as

insulin shock therapy Insulin shock therapy or insulin coma therapy was a form of psychiatric treatment in which patients were repeatedly injected with large doses of insulin in order to produce daily comas over several weeks.Neustatter WL (1948) ''Modern psychiatry ...

was being used. In 1953, Laing returned to Glasgow, participated in an existentialism-oriented discussion group, and worked at the Glasgow Royal Mental Hospital. The hospital was influenced by David Henderson's school of thought, which may have exerted an unacknowledged influence on Laing; he became the youngest

consultant A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

in the country.Mad to be Normal: Conversations with R.D. Laing aperback/ref> Laing's colleagues characterised him as "conservative" for his opposition to

electroconvulsive therapy Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatry, psychiatric treatment that causes a generalized seizure by passing electrical current through the brain. ECT is often used as an intervention for mental disorders when other treatments are inadequ ...

and the new drugs that were being introduced. In 1956, Laing went to train on a grant at the

Tavistock Clinic The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health trust based in north London. The Trust specialises in talking therapies. The education and training department caters for 2,000 students a year from the United Kin ...

in London, widely known as a centre for the study and practice of

psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...

(particularly

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...

). At this time, he was associated with

John Bowlby Edward John Mostyn Bowlby (; 26 February 1907 – 2 September 1990) was a British psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, notable for his interest in child development and for his pioneering work in attachment theory. A ''Review of General Psychology'' ...

, D. W. Winnicott and Charles Rycroft. He remained at the

until 1964. In 1965, Laing and a group of colleagues created the Philadelphia Association and started a psychiatric community project at

Kingsley Hall Kingsley Hall is a community centre, in Powis Road, Bromley-by-Bow in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It dates back to the work of Doris and Muriel Lester, who had a nursery school in nearby Bruce Road. Their brother, Kingsley Lester, die ...

, where patients and therapists lived together. The Norwegian author Axel Jensen contacted Laing at Kingsley Hall after reading his book ''The Divided Self'', which had been given to him by Noel Cobb. Laing treated Jensen, and subsequently, they became close friends. Laing often visited Jensen on board his ship '' Shanti Devi'', which was his home in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. In 1967, Laing appeared on the BBC programme ''Your Witness'', chaired by

Ludovic Kennedy Sir Ludovic Henry Coverley Kennedy, (3 November 191918 October 2009) was a Scottish journalist, broadcaster, humanist and author. As well as his wartime service in the Royal Navy, he is known for presenting many current affairs programmes and ...

, on which, alongside

Jonathan Aitken Jonathan William Patrick Aitken (born 30 August 1942) is a British author, Church of England priest and former Conservative Party politician. Beginning his career in journalism, he was elected to Parliament in 1974 (serving until 1997), and wa ...

and G.P. Ian Dunbar, he argued for the legalisation of

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

in the first live television debate on the subject. In the same years, his views were explored in the television play '' In Two Minds'', written by David Mercer. In October 1972, Laing met

Arthur Janov Arthur Janov (; August 21, 1924October 1, 2017), also known as Art Janov, was an American psychologist, psychotherapist, and writer. He gained notability as the creator of primal therapy, a treatment for mental illness that involves repeatedly de ...

, author of the popular book '' The Primal Scream''. Although Laing found Janov modest and unassuming, he considered him a "jig man" (someone who knows a lot about a little). Laing sympathized with Janov but regarded his

primal therapy Primal therapy is a Psychological trauma, trauma-based psychotherapy created by Arthur Janov during the 1960s, who argued that neurosis is caused by the Psychological repression, repressed Psychological pain, pain of childhood trauma. Janov argued ...

as a lucrative business—one which required no more than obtaining a suitable space and letting people "hang it all out". Inspired by the work of American psychotherapist Elizabeth Fehr, Laing began to develop a team offering "rebirthing workshops" in which one designated person chooses to re-experience the struggle of trying to break out of the birth canal represented by the remaining members of the group who surround him or her. Many former colleagues regarded him as a brilliant mind gone wrong but there were some who thought Laing was somewhat psychotic.

Laing and anti-psychiatry

Laing was seen as an important figure in the

movement, along with David Cooper, although he never denied the value of treating mental distress. He also challenged psychiatric diagnosis itself, arguing that the diagnosis of a mental disorder contradicted accepted medical procedure: the diagnosis was made on the basis of behaviour or conduct of an examination and ancillary tests that traditionally precede the diagnosis of viable pathologies (like broken bones or pneumonia) occurred after the diagnosis of mental disorder (if at all). Hence, according to Laing, psychiatry was founded on a false

epistemology Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that examines the nature, origin, and limits of knowledge. Also called "the theory of knowledge", it explores different types of knowledge, such as propositional knowledge about facts, practical knowle ...

: illness diagnosed by conduct but treated biologically. Laing maintained that

was "a theory not a fact"; he believed leading medical geneticists did not accept the models of genetically inherited schizophrenia being promoted by biologically based psychiatry. He rejected the "medical model of

"—according to Laing, diagnosis of mental illness did not follow a traditional medical model—and this led him to question the use of medication such as

antipsychotics Antipsychotics, previously known as neuroleptics and major tranquilizers, are a class of psychotropic medication primarily used to manage psychosis (including delusions, hallucinations, paranoia or disordered thought), principally in schizo ...

by psychiatry. His attitude to recreational

drug A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via insufflation (medicine), inhalation, drug i ...

s was quite different; privately, he advocated an anarchy of experience. Politically, Laing was regarded as a thinker of the

Personal life

In his early life, Laing's father, David, an electrical engineer who had served in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

, seems often to have come to blows with his own brother, and had a breakdown himself for three months when Laing was a teenager. His mother Amelia, according to some speculation and rumour about her behaviour, has been described as "psychologically peculiar". Laing was troubled by his own personal problems, suffering from both episodic

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

and

clinical depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Intro ...

, according to his

self-diagnosis Self-diagnosis is the process of diagnosing, or identifying, medical conditions in oneself. It may be assisted by medical dictionaries, books, resources on the Internet, past personal experiences, or recognizing symptoms or medical signs of a cond ...

in a BBC Radio interview with

Anthony Clare Anthony Ward Clare (24 December 1942 – 28 October 2007) was an Irish psychiatrist and a presenter of radio and television programmes. He was the presenter of the radio series ''In the Psychiatrist's Chair'', an interview and discussion show, w ...

in 1983, although he reportedly was free of both in the years before his death. These admissions were to have serious consequences for Laing as they formed part of the case against him by the

General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of physician, medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the pu ...

which led to him ceasing to practise medicine. Laing fathered six sons and four daughters by four women. After his rise as a celebrity, Laing left his first wife Anne Hearne, a former nursing student (m. 1952–1966), and their five children. Subsequently, he married German graphic designer Jutta Werner (m. 1974–1986) with whom he fathered three children. His ninth child, Benjamin, with German therapist Sue Sünkel, was born in 1984. In 1988 Laing's partner until his death, Marguerite, gave birth to his tenth child, Charles. Laing died 19 months later of a heart attack at the age of 61 while playing tennis. His son Adrian, speaking in 2008, said, "It was ironic that my father became well known as a family psychiatrist, when, in the meantime, he had nothing to do with his own family". His oldest child Fiona, born in 1952, spent years in mental institutions and was treated for schizophrenia. His daughter Susan died in 1976, aged 21, of

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

. Adam, his oldest son by his second marriage, who had been in an increasingly melancholic and fragile state of mind, was found dead in May 2008 in a tent on the island of

Formentera Formentera (, ) is a Spanish island located in the Mediterranean Sea, which belongs to the Balearic Islands autonomous community (Spain) together with Mallorca, Menorca, and Ibiza. Formentera is the smallest and most southerly island of the ...

. He had died of a heart attack, aged 41.

Works

In 1913, psychiatrist and philosopher

Karl Jaspers Karl Theodor Jaspers (; ; 23 February 1883 – 26 February 1969) was a German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher who had a strong influence on modern theology, psychiatry, and philosophy. His 1913 work ''General Psychopathology'' influenced many ...

had pronounced, in his work, ''General Psychopathology'', that many of the symptoms of mental illness (and particularly of

delusion A delusion is a fixed belief that is not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence. As a pathology, it is distinct from a belief based on false or incomplete information, confabulation, dogma, illusion, hallucination, or some other m ...

s) were "un-understandable", and therefore were worthy of little consideration except as a sign of some other underlying primary disorder. Then, in 1956,

Gregory Bateson Gregory Bateson (9 May 1904 – 4 July 1980) was an English anthropology, anthropologist, social sciences, social scientist, linguistics, linguist, visual anthropology, visual anthropologist, semiotics, semiotician, and cybernetics, cybernetici ...

and his colleagues, Donald Jackson, and

Jay Haley Jay Douglas Haley (July 19, 1923 – February 13, 2007) was one of the founding figures of Problem-solving brief therapy and family therapy in general and of the strategic model of psychotherapy, and he was one of the more accomplished teachers, ...

articulated a theory of schizophrenia as stemming from

double bind A double bind is a dilemma in communication in which an individual (or group) receives two or more mutually conflicting messages. In some scenarios (such as within families or romantic relationships), this can be emotionally distressing, creati ...

situations where a person receives different or contradictory messages. The perceived symptoms of schizophrenia were therefore an expression of this distress, and should be valued as a

cathartic In medicine, a cathartic is a substance that ''accelerates'' defecation. This is similar to a laxative, which is a substance that ''eases'' defecation, usually by softening feces. It is possible for a substance to be both a laxative and a cathar ...

and transformative experience. Laing argued a similar account for psychoses: that the strange behavior and seemingly confused speech of people undergoing a

psychotic In psychopathology, psychosis is a condition in which a person is unable to distinguish, in their experience of life, between what is and is not real. Examples of psychotic symptoms are delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized or incoher ...

episode were ultimately understandable as an attempt to communicate worries and concerns, often in situations where this was not possible or not permitted. Laing stressed the role of society, and particularly the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

, in the development of "madness" (his term). Laing saw

psychopathology Psychopathology is the study of mental illness. It includes the signs and symptoms of all mental disorders. The field includes Abnormal psychology, abnormal cognition, maladaptive behavior, and experiences which differ according to social norms ...

as being seated not in biological or psychic organs whereby environment is relegated to playing at most only an accidental role as immediate trigger of disease (the "stress diathesis model" of the nature and causes of psychopathology) but rather in the social cradle, the urban home, which cultivates it, the very crucible in which selves are forged. This re-evaluation of the locus of the disease process and consequent shift in forms of treatment was in stark contrast to psychiatric orthodoxy (in the broadest sense we have of ourselves as psychological subjects and pathological selves). Laing was revolutionary in valuing the content of psychotic behaviour and speech as a valid expression of distress, albeit wrapped in an enigmatic language of personal symbolism which is meaningful only from within their situation. Laing expanded the view of the "

" hypothesis put forth by Bateson and his team, and came up with a new concept to describe the highly complex situation that unfolds in the process of "going mad" an "incompatible knot". Laing never denied the existence of mental illness, but viewed it in a radically different light from his contemporaries. For Laing, mental illness could be a transformative episode whereby the process of undergoing mental distress was compared to a

shaman Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...

ic journey. The traveler could return from the journey with important insights, and may have become (in the views of Laing and his followers) a wiser and more grounded person as a result (Louis, B., 2006, Moving Beyond Prozac, DSM, and the New Psychiatry). In ''The Divided Self'' (1960), Laing contrasts the experience of the " ontologically secure" person with that of a person who "cannot take the realness, aliveness, autonomy and identity of himself and others for granted" and who consequently contrives strategies to avoid "losing his self". This concept is used to develop a

psychodynamic Psychodynamics, also known as psychodynamic psychology, in its broadest sense, is an approach to psychology that emphasizes systematic study of the psychological forces underlying human behavior, feelings, and emotions and how they might relate t ...

model of the mind to explain psychosis and schizophrenia. Laing's theories resemble later ideas about self-disorder as a core characteristic of schizophrenia. In '' Self and Others'' (1961), Laing's definition of normality shifted somewhat. Laing also wrote poetry and his poetry publications include ''Knots'' (1970, published by

Penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

) and ''Sonnets'' (1979, published by Michael Joseph). Laing appears, alongside his son Adam, on the 1980 album ''Miniatures – a sequence of fifty-one tiny masterpieces'' edited by

Morgan Fisher Stephen Morgan Fisher (born 1 January 1950) is an English keyboard player and composer, and is most known as a member of Mott the Hoople in the early 1970s. However, his career has covered a wide range of musical activities, and he is still ac ...

, performing the song " Tipperary".

Influence

In 1965 Laing co-founded the UK charity the Philadelphia Association, concerned with the understanding and relief of mental suffering, which he also chaired. His work influenced the wider movement of therapeutic communities, operating in less "confrontational" (in a Laingian perspective) psychiatric settings. Other organizations created in a Laingian tradition are the Arbours Association, the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling in London, and the R.D. Laing in the 21st Century Symposium held annually at

Esalen Institute The Esalen Institute, commonly called Esalen, is a non-profit American Retreat (spiritual), retreat center and intentional community in Big Sur, California, which focuses on humanism, humanistic alternative education. The institute played a ke ...

, where Laing frequently taught.

Films and plays about Laing

* ''Ah, Sunflower'' (1967). Short film by Robert Klinkert and

Iain Sinclair Iain Sinclair FRSL (born 11 June 1943) is a writer and filmmaker. Much of his work is rooted in London, recently within the influences of psychogeography. Early life and education Sinclair was born in Cardiff, Wales, on 11 June 1943. From 19 ...

, filmed around the Dialectics of Liberation conference and featuring Laing,

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

Stokely Carmichael Kwame Ture (; born Stokely Standiford Churchill Carmichael; June 29, 1941November 15, 1998) was an American activist who played a major role in the civil rights movement in the United States and the global pan-African movement. Born in Trini ...

and others. * ''Cain’s Film'' (1969). Short film by Jamie Wadhawan on

Alexander Trocchi Alexander Whitelaw Robertson Trocchi ( ; 30 July 1925 – 15 April 1984) was a Scottish novelist. Early life and career Trocchi was born in Glasgow to Alfred (formerly Alfredo) Trocchi, a music-hall performer of Italian parentage, and Annie ...

, featuring other counter-cultural figures in London at the time including Laing,

William Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist. He is widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular culture and ...

and

Davy Graham David Michael Gordon "Davey" Graham (originally spelled Davy Graham) (26 November 1940 – 15 December 2008) was a British guitarist and one of the most influential figures in the 1960s British folk revival. He inspired many famous practitioners ...

. * '' Family Life'' (1971). Reworking of ''

The Wednesday Play ''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of United Kingdom, British television plays which ran on BBC One, BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic ...

'': '' In Two Minds'' (1967) that "explored the issue of schizophrenia and the ideas of the radical psychiatrist R. D. Laing". Both were directed by

Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a retiredhttps://variety.com/2024/film/global/ken-loach-retirement-the-old-oak-jonathan-glazer-oscars-speech-1235956589/ English filmmaker. His socially critical directing style and socialist views ar ...

from scripts by David Mercer. * '' Asylum'' (1972). Documentary directed by Peter Robinson showing Laing's psychiatric community project where patients and therapists lived together. Laing also appears in the film. * ''Knots'' (1975). Film adapted from Laing's 1970 book and

Edward Petherbridge Edward Petherbridge (born 3 August 1936) is an English actor, writer and artist. Among his many roles, he portrayed Lord Peter Wimsey in the 1987 BBC television adaptations of Dorothy L. Sayers' novels, and Guildenstern in Tom Stoppard's ''R ...

's play. * ''How Does It Feel?'' (1976). Documentary on physical senses and creativity featuring Laing,

Joseph Beuys Joseph Heinrich Beuys ( ; ; 12 May 1921 – 23 January 1986) was a German artist, teacher, performance artist, and Aesthetics, art theorist whose work reflected concepts of humanism and sociology. With Heinrich Böll, , Caroline Tisdall, Rober ...

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English Painting, painter, Drawing, draughtsman, Printmaking, printmaker, Scenic design, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considere ...

Elkie Brooks Elkie Brooks (born Elaine Bookbinder; 25 February 1945) is an English Rock music, rock, blues and jazz singer. She was a vocalist with the bands Dada and Vinegar Joe (band), Vinegar Joe, and later became a solo artist. She gained her biggest su ...

Michael Tippett Sir Michael Kemp Tippett (2 January 1905 – 8 January 1998) was an English composer who rose to prominence during and immediately after the Second World War. In his lifetime he was sometimes ranked with his contemporary Benjamin Britten as o ...

and

Richard Gregory Richard Langton Gregory, (24 July 1923 – 17 May 2010) was a British psychologist and Professor of Neuropsychology at the University of Bristol. Life and career Richard Gregory was born in London. He was the son of Christopher Clive Lan ...

. * ''Birth with R.D. Laing'' (1978). Documentary on the "institutionalization of childbirth practices in Western society". * ''R.D. Laing’s Glasgow'' (1979). An episode of the Canadian TV series ''

Cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

''. * The play '' Mary Barnes'' by David Edgar (1979) was a theatrical indictment of traditional psychiatry, chronicling the six-year journey through the illness of Barnes, a middle-aged former nurse diagnosed as schizophrenic, kept in padded cells and drugged and shocked into numbness. Set in 1960s London and based on the personal accounts of Barnes and therapist Joseph Berke, the play follows her years as a resident of Kingsley Hall, where the innovative treatment approach begins her path to recovery. Starring Patti Love, it was broadcast on

BBC Radio 7 BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It mostly broadcasts archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes, and is the sister station of Radio 4. It is the pri ...

on 7 November 2009, and also in December 2011 on

Radio 4 Extra BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British Digital radio in the United Kingdom, digital Radio broadcasting, radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It mostly broadcasts archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary program ...

. * ''Did You Used to be R.D. Laing?'' (1989). Documentary portrait of Laing by Kirk Tougas and Tom Shandel. Adapted for the stage in 2000 by Mike Maran. * ''Eros, Love & Lies'' (1990). Documentary on Laing. * ''What You See Is Where You’re At'' (2001). A collage of found footage by Luke Fowler on Laing's experiment in alternative therapy at Kingsley Hall. * ''The Trap'', part 1 (2007). Covering Laings' modeling of familial interactions using game theory. * ''All Divided Selves'' (2011). Another collage of archive material and new footage by Luke Fowler. * '' Mad to Be Normal'' (2017). A fictionalised account of the Kingsley Hall project, starring

as Laing and directed by Robert Mullan.

Selected bibliography

* Laing, R.D. (1960) ''The Divided Self: An Existential Study in Sanity and Madness''. London: Tavistock Publications (1959) Ltd; republished with a new Preface, Harmondsworth:

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

1965 * Laing, R.D. (1961) ''The Self and Others''. London: Tavistock Publications. * Laing, R.D. and Esterson, A. (1964) ''Sanity, Madness and the Family''. London: Penguin Books. * Laing, R.D. and Cooper, D.G. (1964) ''Reason and Violence: A Decade of Sartre's Philosophy''. (2nd ed.) London: Tavistock Publications Ltd. * Laing, R.D., Phillipson, H. and Lee, A.R. (1966) ''Interpersonal Perception: A Theory and a Method of Research''. London: Tavistock Publications. * Laing, R.D. (1967) '' The Politics of Experience and The Bird of Paradise''. Harmondsworth: Penguin. * Laing, R.D. (1970) ''Knots''. London: Penguin
excerpt

movie (IMDB)
* Laing, R.D. (1971) ''The Politics of the Family and Other Essays''. London: Tavistock Publications. * Laing, R.D. (1972) ''Knots''. New York:

Vintage Press Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was acquired by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1990. After Random Ho ...

. * Laing, R.D. (1976) ''Do You Love Me? An Entertainment in Conversation and Verse''. New York:

Pantheon Books Pantheon Books is an American book publishing imprint. Founded in 1942 as an independent publishing house in New York City by Kurt and Helen Wolff, it specialized in introducing progressive European works to American readers. In 1961, it was ...

. * Laing, R.D. (1976) ''Sonnets''. London: Michael Joseph. * Laing, R.D. (1976) ''The Facts of Life''. London: Penguin. * Laing, R.D. (1977) ''Conversations with Adam and Natasha''. New York: Pantheon. * Laing, R.D. (1982) ''The Voice of Experience: Experience, Science and Psychiatry''. Harmondsworth: Penguin. * Laing, R.D. (1985) ''Wisdom, Madness and Folly: The Making of a Psychiatrist 1927–1957''. London: Macmillan. * Mullan, B. (1995) ''Mad to be Normal: Conversations with R.D. Laing''. London: Free Association Books. * Russell, R. and R.D. Laing (1992) ''R.D. Laing and Me: Lessons in Love''. New York: Hillgarth Press. (download free on http://rdlaing.org/ ) * Mott, F.J. and R.D. Laing (2014
''Mythology of the Prenatal Life''
London: Starwalker Press. (Hand-written annotations .1977by R.D. Laing are included in the text, revealing Laing's own thoughts and associative material on prenatal psychology as he studied this book.Original is located in the R.D. Laing Special Collection, Glasgow University Library. See also * Caretti, V. and R.D. Laing (2022) Dialogues on Madness and Wisdom: In Conservation with R.D. Laing. Edited by Groth, M. and D. Serra. London: The Society for Existential Analysis.

References

External links

Biography at The Society for Laingian Studies

Special Issue of Janus Head
, Edited by Daniel Burston
The Philadelphia Association

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110615193523/http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article6058901.ece RD Laing: The Abominable Family Manfrom The Sunday Times
Life before Death
– 1978 album of sonnets and other poems performed by R. D. Laing to an original musical score * : St Görans Lecture, Stockholm, 10 February 1982.
Papers of Ronald David Laing, psychotherapist, 1928-1989 (GB 247 MS Laing) Archives & Special Collections, University of Glasgow

Octopus An octopus (: octopuses or octopodes) is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, and nautiloids. Like oth ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laing, Ronald David Laing, R.D. Laing, R.D. Laing, R.D. Laing, R.D. Laing, R.D. British psychoanalysts Existentialist and phenomenological psychologists History of mental health in the United Kingdom Schizophrenia researchers Laing, R. D. Laing, R. D. Royal Army Medical Corps officers Scottish soldiers Scottish medical writers People educated at Hutchesons' Grammar School Existential therapists Analysands of D. W. Winnicott 20th-century Scottish medical doctors People from Govanhill and Crosshill